Daily Archives: 08/26/2014

She and my dad have always been the two people in this world I’ve looked up to. Whether it was playing on the running track at Cuyahoga Community College when she was a student, or walking home from the bus stop with her after a long day of work and school—me in her left arm, books in her right—my mom made me feel like the most important person in her life. I am so blessed for all that she has done for our family.

We’ve come a long way since those days, thanks in large part to my mom’s tireless efforts and selfless dedication to our family. It was tough, but she made it look easy. I know these same qualities will make my mom an excellent Secretary of State. She will work tirelessly to ensure that all Ohioans have access to the ballot box and opportunities to build their measure of the American Dream.

People ask me all the time about my mom, and all I can do is tell the truth – she is simply an incredible woman. Her constant work as a true public servant for the people of Ohio only reminds me of why Mother’s Day is so important. I try to make sure she knows how I feel all year long, but this day of recognition is more than well deserved.

My mom didn’t rest until our family had achieved our American Dream, and I know she won’t rest until ALL of her fellow Ohioans have that same opportunity.

President Obama: Navy sonar exercises are killing whales again! More whales died this spring during joint exercises involving the U.S. Navy off the coast of Crete. As commander in chief, you have the power to stop this deadly assault on whales WITH THE STROKE OF YOUR PEN. We demand that you immediately sign an executive order directing the Secretary of the Navy to halt sonar trainings in whale habitats around the world!

The Navy said it couldn’t happen again, but now U.S. Navy sonar exercises in Crete have driven whales onto the beaches to die, once again.

In April, whales mass-stranded and died during a U.S. Navy exercise offshore of Crete—the fourth time that sonar trainings have caused catastrophic strandings in these same waters.

Now the autopsy results are in, showing hemorrhaging of internal organs, bleeding from the ears, and other signs of decompression sickness, and the cause of this crime is clear: Navy sonar. OUR Navy.

As commander in chief, the president has direct command over the Army and the Navy. He is constitutionally charged with taking care that the laws are faithfully executed. The killing of innocent whales and dolphins—whether in domestic or foreign waters—is a flagrant violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other federal laws. The Navy is not above the law. These crimes violate every code of human decency and must be stopped.

With the single stroke of his pen, President Obama can order the Secretary of the Navy to cease sonar trainings in whale and dolphin habitats.

The president has direct authority over the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency charged with enforcing our marine mammal protection laws. With one phone call, the president can order the head of Fisheries to require the Navy to conduct Environmental Impact Statements on all its training ranges, both domestic and international.

It’s too late to save the whales who died during the U.S. Navy war games in Crete. But if you and I cry out for justice, we can compel the president to act. Together, we have the power to end the U.S. Navy’s war on whales and dolphins.

The Republican Party of Florida is held responsible for letting insurance premiums rise

On August 6th, Crist held a Facebook Q&A session where a voter asked him about regulating insurance premiums. He responded: “The fact that we have a law on the books under Rick Scott that says the office of insurance regulation can’t regulate insurance is astounding. We deserve better, you deserve better.” In a direct reply to Crist, the Republican Party of Florida wrote: “Wrong, Charlie. It’s Obamacare that prevents OIR from regulating insurance … a law that you think is great even though premiums will go up by double digits for Floridians.”

The Affordable Care Act doesn’t give the federal government power to regulate insurance rates. It defers to states to regulate their premiums, following a set of criteria for state agencies.

Ironically, the Republican Party of Florida told us it was referring directly to the portion of the Affordable Care Act that says state law is to be followed unless it contradicts the federal health care law, and that’s why Obamacare makes the insurance commissioner obsolete when it comes to setting rates.

Experts we talked to said that doesn’t mean Washington can or wants to do Florida’s job. […]

The Affordable Care Act says if states can regulate premiums, they should. States only have to bring laws up to minimum Obamacare requirements. The federal government only intervenes in states that don’t have effective rate review programs — something Florida can do on its own but won’t, thanks to a 2013 law passed by the Republican-led Legislature. We rate the claim Pants on Fire.

While Florida Republicans may blame Crist and the ACA, they are ultimately responsible for not reigning in premium rates. With Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty stripped of his power, Florida premiums will rise 7.4 percent on average and by as much as 23 percent, according to new research from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute.

Many states with effective rate review have not seen the same increases:

In Connecticut, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield tried to raise premiums by 12.5 percent on average. However, the Insurance Department rejected that proposal. Now, Anthem customers will see an average premium decrease of 0.1 percent, according to The Connecticut Mirror.

California, which also has an effective rate review program, will only see a weighted average increase of 4.2 percent.

Oregon Insurance Division regulators denied a number of proposed increases from insurance companies: Moda Health’s increase was reduced and Kaiser Health Foundation’s increase was reversed to a 4.1 percent cut. Overall, PwC finds that the average Oregonian will see their premiums lowered by 2.5 percent.

This is not the first time conservatives have been on the wrong side of premium increases. In July, a wide swath of Republican elected officials cheered the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision in Halbig v. Burwell. Ted Cruz remarked: “This is a significant victory for the American people and the rule of law, but we must not rest.” If the decision stands, individuals using the federal exchange would see their rates increase by a whopping 322 percent.

BOTTOM LINE: The ACA is working, especially in states where leaders have embraced it.. The uninsured rate continues to drop and people are overwhelmingly satisfied with their health insurance. But conservative governors like Rick Scott are letting their states fall behind by blocking Medicaid expansion and passing a law taking authority away from the state, which is why Scott is on the hot seat in November.

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“As concerned global citizens, we stand in solidarity with these indigenous nations and urge you to immediately stop plans for new oil drilling in Ecuador’s rainforests!”Add your name:

Jaime Vargas, an Ecuadorian tribal leader, stood proudly in the howling wind and rain to send us this urgent plea: “Big Oil will stop at nothing to destroy our sacred rainforest home. But with your help we can save it!” [1]

Jaime and his Achuar people are guardians of a spectacular land teeming with one-of-a-kind plants and animals. But Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, is racing to sell off the Achuar’s rainforest home and the neighboring Yasuni National Park to greedy international oil companies.[2]

The president is determined to put profit ahead of his own people — even though they’re still suffering from Chevron’s decades-old oil disaster. [3]

More than 1 million people have stood up to save Ecuador’s threatened rainforests [4] — now it’s time for the SierraRise community to join the fight. Let’s stand with Jaime and all Ecuadorians and flood the president’s inbox with 50,000 messages!

Big Oil can’t be trusted to operate safely in the rainforest. For three decades, Texaco, now part of Chevron, dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste into the beautiful Ecuadorian Amazon. [5]Thousands of people are still suffering a plague of deadly cancers and devastating birth defects. [6]

This land is not only crucial for wildlife, but also to the seven vibrant indigenous communities that call it home. Jaime says it best: “For us, the indigenous people, the rainforest is life. There we are in touch with everything.” [7]The Amazon can’t afford another deadly oil disaster like Chevron’s.

Last November, hundreds of everyday Ecuadorians protested the proposed oil drilling. President Correa and his government, feeling the pressure, shut down Pachamama, a local nonprofit fighting the oil drilling, stifling his people’s free speech. [8] It’s clear — President Correa is feeling the heat.

By DamNation Film

Communities in nearly every state are choosing to remove high-cost, low-value dams to restore rivers, recover fish stocks, revitalize waterfronts, improve quality of life and render watersheds more resilient to climate change.

Join us in calling on President Obama to crack down on deadbeat dams, beginning with four especially harmful, federally operated dams on the lower Snake River in southeastern Washington: Ice Harbor Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, Little Goose Dam and Lower Granite Dam.

Snake River salmon and steelhead once thrived, with up to 30 million wild fish entering the mouth of the Columbia River every year. Now, every Snake River salmon stock is on the endangered species list or extinct.

Obsolete dams impose a high cost on river communities and ecosystems, our economy and tribal cultures. We have found better ways to do the work of dams, and we have a historic opportunity to restore wild salmon to over 6,000 miles of river habitat. Now is the time for action on the Snake.

This petition was created in conjunction with the documentary film DamNation, and supporting partners Patagonia and Save Our Wild Salmon. Please visit DamNationFilm.com to learn more.

Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law. It’s been nearly a year since the Supreme Court upheld the law under the Constitution. And, by the way, six months ago, the American people went to the polls and decided to keep going in this direction. So the law is here to stay.

I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be — in a fair and impartial way.

They exemplified the very idea of citizenship — that with our God-given rights come responsibilities and obligations to ourselves and to others. They embodied that idea. That’s the way they died. That’s how we must remember them. And that’s how we must live.